Sawchuks attend TIFF opening gala after appearing in 'Being Heumann'

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Earlier this month, as the Toronto International Film Festival opened its curtain for the 51st time, a pair of familiar faces graced the screen at the festival’s opening gala.

 

Blyth’s Julie Sawchuk and her son Oliver were cast as background performers in Being Heumann, directed by Siân Heder. The film tells the true story of disability activist Judith Heumann and the historic Section 504 sit-ins in the late 1970s that resulted in the eventual passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Its opening gala screening was the film’s world premiere.

 

Heder won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2021 for CODA (an acronym for children of deaf adults), which also went on to win the Best Picture Oscar that year. She has been clear about the importance of disability representation in her work and Being Heumann is yet another step in that process.

 

They shot the film in and around Toronto last summer and Sawchuk auditioned to be part of it.

 

Speaking to The Citizen, Sawchuk said that she now has an agent and while she doesn’t necessarily have a background in acting, she felt that being part of productions, when possible, could help further the work of disability representation in film, television, commercials and more. So, while she unsuccessfully auditioned for the lead role of the film, she made an impression on the casting agents, who later asked if she would consider being part of the “504 Crew” that is part of the sit-in depicted in the film. She said yes, an opportunity presented itself for Oliver as well and soon they were on a movie set for seven weeks, living in a Pickering hotel awaiting the next day’s call sheet.

 

Both Julie and Oliver say it was a tremendous, eye-opening experience to see a big-budget movie production up close. They became very close with their fellow 504 Crew members and many of the stars, with whom they worked day in and day out. Oliver, particularly, found himself interested in the inner workings and behind-the-scenes production of the film and all that goes into making film and television. 

 

While much of their work was, by-definition, background performance, the creatives, at one point, were so taken with Sawchuk’s story that they had her perform a monologue, about the collision that changed her life several years ago, incorporated into the film. She wrote it herself and performed it as if she was telling it to the policy-makers in the film, unsure if it would make the final cut.

 

The duo was on set from May to July of 2025 and then they didn’t hear anything for a while. There had been rumblings on the set that it would be a real treat if the film had its premiere in Toronto, but that was strictly speculation at that point, with the post-production process still having to play out. Then, a few weeks ago, the teaser for the film was released and the wheels were set in motion for its world premiere, which would, indeed, come at the Toronto International Film Festival.

 

Julie and her husband Theo attended the opening gala together - she found her opening night dress at the opening of Pick A Posie, which she thought was serendipitous - with Julie and some of her 504 Crew members alongside the red carpet, reuniting with the film’s stars. She then saw the film again with both Oliver and daughter Ella later in its festival run.

 

She has since been in contact with the film’s producers about having a special screening of the film in Huron County, which she thinks would be an amazing opportunity for the film. For those watching at home, it will be available on Apple TV this November.
Reflecting on the experience, Julie said that being part of the film is really the pinnacle of what she’s been trying to do. In her life, she said, it’s hard to imagine having a bigger opportunity or platform from which to champion the inclusion of people with disabilities, so the experience, easily, has been life-changing. Furthermore, to work with Heder, whose goal is the same as Julie’s - to change the world as far as disability representation is concerned - is something Julie will never forget.